New Report Exposes Risks In Digital Twin Technology For Deep Sea Mining

Thursday 31 October 2024

As global calls for a moratorium on deep-sea mining become stronger, a new report launched today by Dr. Helen Rosenbaum, Research Coordinator for the Deep Sea Mining Campaign, raises critical concerns about the use of Digital Twin Technology and Adaptive Management Systems in deep-sea mining. Presented at the Deep Ocean Symposium, the report delivers a major blow to the controversial industry's claims of environmental responsibility amidst the scientific consensus of severe and long term damage to fragile ocean ecosystems.

The new report highlights that the application of Digital Twin Technology and Adaptive Management Systems to DSM is fraught with risks due to the limitations of the technology and significant gaps in knowledge about deep sea ecosystems. Research indicates that resolving these limitations will likely take decades. Despite these significant gaps, The Metals Company (TMC) claims this technology will provide eyes and ears over mining operations it’s financially desperate to begin within the next 2 years.

Dr Rosenbaum warns “Though promoted as cutting-edge, Digital Twin Technology and Adaptive Management Systems fall far short of accurately monitoring or mitigating the potential irreversible impacts of deep-sea mining. For the foreseeable future Digital Twin Technology will be confined to tracking equipment performance and a few parameters chosen by the company, offering no protection for our oceans. Adaptive Management was designed for long-term conservation, not to handle the rapid, large-scale damage expected from deep-sea mining.

The report explains Digital Twin Technology and Adaptive Management and outlines the minimum standards needed for a Digital Twin-based management system to protect an environment as complex as the ocean. It emphasises that Digital Twin Technology and Adaptive Management are still conceptual, with no agreed international standards for ecological indicators, data transparency, or stakeholder access.

Dr. Rosenbaum concludes, “At this early stage, Digital Twin Technology and Adaptive Management would act as a smokescreen, allowing companies with financial interests to self-monitor and self-regulate. Would you trust the fox to guard the henhouse?”

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